Europe, that is. Especially “old” Europe — heavily regulated “social democracies” like France, Germany, and Sweden. That’s the question Thomas Sowell asks in his column today.
Intellectuals have a love affair with the idea that the more the government regulates and controls, the better things are, but all you get from government meddling is lowered production and increasing political strife.
Obama is one of those intellectuals. Among other things, he favors expanding the “Family and Medical Leave Act” to cover all firms (those with fewer than 25 employees are now exempt) and to mandate paid leave (currently the mandate is for unpaid leave). This is European-style interference with freedom of contract and I fear that we are in for a big, terrible-tasting dose of it.
